Joe Pesci has made an art out of being a foul-mouthed, nasty guy. Whether it's in serious films like 'Raging Bull,' 'GoodFellas' or 'Casino,' or comic turns like 'My Cousin Vinny,' audiences love to see him being joyously mean to unsuspecting low-lifes, even if that involves stabbing a drunken jerk half to death with a ballpoint pen.
The scene from Red Eye (2005). Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in Casino (1995) Another pen stabbing. The scene from Casino (1995) See more. Las Vegas, in the spirit of Joe Pesci stabbing a guy in the neck with a pen in Casino, opens a Mob Museum. NYT The Art Newspaper notices the strange provenance of a Lucian Freud. Does anybody know the name of a film where a man (i think that its joe pesci) is signing a contract on mans back, then he stabs him in the back with the pen dotting an i or false stop? The only movie I remember someone being stabed in the back while letting someone sign a contract on his back was 'The Running Man' Arnold Swartzinager, Richard. In Death Race, Lists stabs a thug in the back with his pen during a fight, providing the vital distraction that allows the hero to turn the tide of the fight. Joe Pesci kills a man this way in Casino. Rather disgusting to watch. The titular character in Psycho Cop Returns kills one of his victims with a pencil into the eye. Casino's more just glam (and Pesci stabbing a dude with a pen); The Departed is clever as fuck, full up of humanity and deep thoughts, whilst also being gangsta as fuck. The ending of The Departed is also awesome and you're like 'Why the fuck didn't I see this coming?'
He follows this same formula in '8 Heads in a Duffel Bag,' the first movie since Sam Peckinpah's 1974 'Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia' to feature decapitated noggins as title characters. After all, who else but Pesci could get away with tossing an acid-tongued old lady out of a moving car and down an embankment? For laughs, no less.
In '8 Heads in a Duffel Bag,' written and directed by Tom Schulman, (who, believe it or not, wrote the screenplay for 'The Dead Poets Society'), Pesci plays Tommy Spinelli, a low-rent mobster who gives new meaning to the term 'bag man.' Though he has killed his share of 'scumbags' over the years, Tommy's final assignment before retirement is more delivery boy than butcher. All he has to do is fly the newly chopped heads to the fearsome Big Sep, so the top man can see for himself that the 'hit' has been carried out. Tommy has done work like this before, so he knows to plant a gun on the unsuspecting woman in front of him as he approaches the metal-detector at the airport, making it easy to slip the heads through during the commotion. But he's clearly never dealt with so many heads at one time, and when the stewardess makes him check his oversized duffel, Tommy's troubles are off and running.
As in a Hitchcock film, the innocent young man in the seat next to him picks up Tommy's bag by mistake and takes it down to Mexico, where he is meeting his girlfriend's family for the first time. Tommy quickly realizes what's happened and starts looking for the lost bag before Big Sep decides to add Tommy's head to the collection.
As long as Pesci is onscreen doing his 'You think I'm funny?' shtick, the movie works. In fact, it's hard to think of a single scene with Pesci in it that doesn't have at least one or two good-sized laughs. When he's offscreen, however, the movie quickly deflates, until it's about as funny as, well, a bag full of heads.
As Charlie, the kid who accidentally gets sucked into Tommy's violent world, newcomer Andy Comeau has some cute moments. But he has a tendency to mug, perhaps influenced by Dyan Cannon, who overplays the role of the mother to the nth degree. Much better are Kristy Swanson as the ambivalent girlfriend and George Hamilton as her obnoxious, overprotective father. As the film rolls on, it gets a tad confusing, as more heads are added to the mix, making it difficult to keep track of which heads are where. But when the remaining heads come together for a late-night song, it's clear that logic has been tossed out the window anyway.
Whether or not you enjoy this film will probably depend on your feelings about slapstick and bad taste. If you can imagine laughing at the sight of a packaged human organ, needed for life-saving transplant surgery, being kicked around the cabin of an airplane, you may find '8 Heads in a Duffel Bag' to your liking.
As for me, how could I not like a film that features the always annoying David Spade being tortured and whipped with a wet towel?
`8 HEADS IN A DUFFEL BAG'
(star) (star) (star)
Written and directed by Tom Schulman; photographed by Adam Holender; production designed by Paul Peters; edited by David Holden; music by Andrew Gross. An Orion Pictures release. Opens Friday. Running time: 1:37. MPAA rating: R. Violence, strong language, body parts.
THE CAST
Joe Pesci Casino Pen Stabbing Case
Tommy Spinelli .......................... Joe Pesci
Charlie ................................. Andy Comeau
Laurie Bennett .......................... Kristy Swanson
Dick Bennett ............................ George Hamilton
Annette Bennett ......................... Dyan Cannon
Ernie ................................... David Spade
Steve ................................... Todd Louiso
Farah Nayeri interviews Yayoi Kusama in conjunction with her Tate Modern retrospective. “I have been using polka dots since I was a very young child,” Kusama says, when asked about Damien Hirst. “It’s only after that, it seems, that they’ve become popular throughout the art world.” Also, she loves Godiva chocolates and monarchies, and is not a fan of men. [Bloomberg]
Some argue that a recent $6.5 million theft at the Greek National Gallery could have been avoided were it not for the austerity measures that have slashed security personnel by 50 percent. [AMM]
Some argue that a recent $6.5 million theft at the Greek National Gallery could have been avoided were it not for the austerity measures that have slashed security personnel by 50 percent. [AMM]
Painter Will Barnet, sculptor Martin Puryear and curator and collector Emily Rauh Pulitzer were honored with the 2011 National Medal of Arts by President Obama yesterday. [ARTFIXdaily]
Joe Pesci Casino Pen Stabbing Update
Las Vegas, in the spirit of Joe Pesci stabbing a guy in the neck with a pen in Casino, opens a Mob Museum. [NYT]
The Art Newspaper notices the strange provenance of a Lucian Freud. [TAN]
The Kimball Art Center in Utah will be renovated with old train tracks. [Arts Beat]
“President’s Proposed Budget Includes N.E.A. Increase.” [NYT]